Traditional solid aerogels used in window-insulation materials generally need to be packed within a specially designed housing, such as in a polymer double skin-sheet between two gaps and two glass panes, or casted in thicker inhomogeneous polymer films. The need for such specialized housings places significant constraints on such materials. Moreover, conventional thermal insulating materials are known to suffer from low transparency, often as a result of the presence of pore sizes or particles above 800 nm or the presence of pores or particles having a broad distribution of sizes (e.g., 400 to 1200 nm). In some instances, the thermal insulating materials possess acceptable transparency when first installed, but experience a gradual deterioration of the transparency over time (and hence, a gradual increase in opacity over time) due to aggregation of pores or particles in the material over time. Thus, there would be a significant benefit in a thermal insulating material that does not require a special housing, that can be applied onto a variety of surfaces by simple means to thermally insulate such surfaces, and that exhibits an improved stability by resisting aggregation and thereby retaining an acceptable level of transparency through the lifetime use of the material.